one of my favorite things about fmab is how many men there are who are completely devoted to the women in their lives, whether familially, romantically, or platonically.
like you have maes hughes, who is always talking about his wife and daughter and how amazing they are (though it’s meant to be annoying, you can tell his love is pure and sweet), who dies with a picture of them right next to him and gracia and elicia’s names on his lips.
there’s ling yao, who time and time again refuses to leave lan fan behind, who will have his friends pass her notes so she knows he okay, who will take control from greed just to jump in front of her.
there’s sig curtis, who is silent with his words but loud with his love, who holds izumi gently when she’s coughing up blood, who places a hand on her shoulder so she knows she’s not alone when she remembers their lost child, who looks upon his wife with pride, who screams her name when he fears she’s lost forever.
there’s captain buccaneer and major miles, who follow major general olivier armstrong into battle fearlessly, who are loyal to her before they’re loyal to their country, who send men to help her fight when they know she won’t admit she needs it, and buccaneer dies asking that ling make sure her orders to him are followed.
there’s roy mustang, who places all his trust in riza hawkeye and does everything he can to keep her safe, who calls her his queen- the most powerful piece on the chessboard- and panics when he sees she isn’t at her post, who is so devoted to her that the homunculi know putting her in danger is the only way to get him to do what they want.
there’s alphonse elric, who walks through a blizzard to keep winry rockbell from walking into a trap, who jumps in front of mei chang time and time again to keep her safe and carries her in his armor when she’s hurt.
and then there’s edward elric, who eases a gun from winry rockbell’s hands and tells her she has hands that help people, who lets her cry into his shoulder, who looks up to her as the person who helped him stand again, who does everything in his power to keep her safe, who makes it his mission to make her cry tears of joy rather than sorrow, who loves her so much that he confesses by telling her he wants to spend his life with her.
it is just such pure devotion and raw love, and there are so many ways it’s shown, and i think it’s beautiful.